POSTPONED TIL May 2013 - "Depression Among Asian Americans" conference sponsored by NJAAAHS, Sat., Nov 17, 2012, 9 am–4:30 pm, Edison, NJ

[Pearl J. Park]

Due to the severe aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the conference has been postponed until May 2013. NJ was the hardest hit and the recovery period will likely extend for weeks beyond today. Some are still without gas, electricity, heat, and hot water. Public transportation will not be normalized for weeks in NJ. As soon as a date in May is set, I will notify all. 

Those of you who registered for the conference via PayPal, your registration fee will be refunded within the next 48 hours. If you know of anyone who was considering attending the conference, please forward this email to them. Thank you for your understanding.

Hope all of you in the NJ/NY region are safe and warm!

Pearl Ji-hyon Park
201-589-0623
lightf...@gmail.com

"Can" DVD now on sale!  http://www.amongourkin.org/purchase.html 

What some mental health and disability rights advocates are saying about "Can."

"As a mental health clinician, I was moved by Can’s courage and commitment to regaining his life. As a suicide prevention specialist, I was profoundly moved by Can’s message of hope and recovery. The documentary is remarkably effective in recognizing stigma as a primary barrier to creating support resources for Asian Americans with mental illness."

— Aruna Jha, Ph.D., LCSW

Founder, Asian American Suicide Prevention Initiative (AASPI)

 

"Can is a bold and thoughtful film centered on the intersection of culture, identity, and mental illness. Can Truong’s story serves as a powerful educational tool to help promote healing, recovery, and mental health justice in our communities."  

 

— Rooshey Hasnain, Ed.D.,
Visiting Clinical and Research Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago, Asian American Studies Program and Department of Disability and Human Development 

"An eye-opener about the immigrant Asian American experience with mental illness. A gem of a film for ethnic studies—one that dispels the model minority myth. It is an instrumental tool in teaching people of all backgrounds about mental illness and Asian American immigrant families."

— Shinhee Han, PhD

Adjunct Professor of Psychology; Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, Columbia University

"This film is invaluable and I think every major mental health system and organization should have a copy. There is a great need for films like this — one that addresses the issues with depth and different perspectives (family, friend, individual, etc). It brings in the watcher and makes the experiences of Can and his family relatable, thus the issue relatable and harder to dismiss."

— Jae Jin Pak

Chair, Board of the Asian American Suicide Prevention Initiative (AASPI) and Social Justice Activist

Please visit the website of "Can" a documentary film: amongourkin.org.

Blog: can-documentary.blogspot.com

Please join our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Can/119741771392816

New Jersey Asian American Association for Human Services (njaaahs.org) presents

"Depression Among Asian Americans: Culture-Specific Prevention and Intervention Strategies"

Sat., Nov 17, 2012, 9:00AM–4:30PM 

Venue: Royal Albert’s Palace, 1050 King Georges Post Road, Edison, New Jersey, 08863*; (732) 661-1070; in...@royalalbertspalace.com

An estimated 1 in 10 Americans deals with depression in a given year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. But for Asian Americans, dealing with depression or any other form of mental illness may present a particularly difficult set of challenges. And depression may manifest differently among different Asian American groups. Moderated by the president of the NJ Psychiatric Association, Vasudev Makhija, MD, this conference will focus on the prevention and treatment of depression among the 4 largest Asian American groups in NJ: South Asian, Chinese, Filipino, and Korean. Due to the stigma of mental illness and systemic barriers in care, Asian Americans utilize mental health services at significantly lower rates than the general population in the U.S. Like all immigrants, Asian Americans, the majority of whom are foreign-born, experience the stresses of acculturation and assimilation, which may contribute to their mental health issues. Using a real-life narrative to examine critical social and systemic factors that affect Asian American families with mental illness, the conference will screen "Can" one of the first documentary films (amongourkin.org) to present the experience of mental illness from an Asian American perspective. Unlike other major minority groups, Asian Americans are publicly perceived as the model minority, which presents an inaccurate picture of their mental and physical health. This public perception often limits education, prevention, and treatment efforts for mental illness in these communities.

Registration Fee:

$20.00 per person (includes conference material and buffet lunch)  To register for this event, please click here to pay the $20 registration fee by PayPal (or download registration form). (6 CEUs for Nurses, Social Workers and Professional Counselors pending) 

$10.00 for students (ID required at the registration desk) To register for this event as a student, please click here to pay the $10 registration fee. 

For group conference registration of five or more, a discount is available. Please call 908-400-7254

Agenda

Registration and Coffee & Bagels  - 8.30AM

Welcome – 9.00AM 
Antony Pitchai Stephen, Ph.D.
President and Chair, NJAAAHS,

Introduction to Conference
Marley Nicolas, MSN, RN, Vice-President, NJAAAHS                                                                   

Greetings from:

NJ Assemblyman Upendra J.Chivukula, 17th Legislative District

Assistant Commissioner Lynn Kovich, M.Ed.
Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services,
NJ State Department of Health and Human Services.

Keynote Speech:

Kam Man Kenny Kwong, Ph.D., MSW
Assistant Professor, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, NYC
Chair, Health & Mental Health Field of Practice

Moderators & Panelists Introductions: Helen Dao, MHH, Advisory Board Member, NJAAAHS & CEO Dao Consulting Services, Inc.

Depression Among the 4 Major Asian American Groups in NJ

Moderator: Vasudev Makhija, MD; President, New Jersey Psychiatric Association

Depression Among South Asians
Antony Pitchai Stephen, Ph.D., President, NJAAAHS & Adjunct Professor,
NJCU – Sociology/Anthropology Dept

Depression Among Filipinos
Dely Po Go, DNP, RN, President, Nursing Network, LLC, Clifton, New Jersey

Depression Among Chinese Americans
Teddy Chen, Ph.D., LCSW, Director, Mental Health Bridge Program, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, NYC

Depression Among Korean Americans
Kunsook Bernstein, Ph.D., NP, CASAC, RN,
Associate Professor, Hunter College, NY

Q&A

Buffet Lunch (12.30PM and break)

1:30PM:  A documentary film, “Can” (amongourkin.org) (65 min) by Pearl Ji-hyon Park

What does it take to heal from mental illness? Winner of the 2012 Voice Award honorable mention, this documentary film depicts a first-person account of 37 year-old Can Truong, a refugee who was among the millions of boat people who fled Vietnam, as he searches for healing, dignity and recovery from initially depression and then bipolar disorder. Over a 12-year period, Can tried more than 20 different medications, was hospitalized 7 times, and underwent 15 electroconvulsive treatments. Fighting despair and suicidal impulses, Can becomes active in the mental health consumer movement, a social and political effort by people labeled with mental illnesses who believe in recovery through self-determination and peer support.

Panel Discussion moderated by
Vasudev Makhija , MD, President, New Jersey Psychatric Association

Panelists
Shin Woo Kim, LMSW., President, Korean American Behavioral Health Association and Social Worker at Creedmore Psychiatric Institute

Leanh Nguyen, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist and former Vietnamese Refugee, NY, NY

Pearl Ji-hyon Park, Producer/Director, "Can"

Can Truong, Mental Health Advocate and Subject in Documentary Film, Santa Cruz, CA (via SKYPE)

Lawrence H. Yang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, NY

Questions & Answers: Open discussion

4.00PM: Conference Recommendations Led by Fred Andes, DSW, MPA, LCSW, LCADC, Associate Professor, Sociology/Anthropology Dept., NJCU; Consultant, NJAAAHS

Program Evaluation

(CEUs for Nurses, Social Workers and Professional Counselors pending)

4.20PM:   Concluding Remarks: Claire Iwatsu, BFA, Board Member